Here Comes the Sun

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On Aug. 21, the Pres community gathered together in the courtyard. The sky was bright, and the air crackled with excitement. Brave photographers steadied their cameras to point at the phenomenon happening above. The eclipse’s rare appearance over the Pres community definitely shed some light on science for students and teachers alike.

“There’s so much significance,” said astronomy club officer Mariana Antaya. “It’s like a once in a lifetime opportunity. The next one in California won’t be until like 20 or 30 years from now. So being able to see it we’re so lucky.”

According to NASA, a solar eclipse is caused when the moon prevents the sun’s light from reaching the earth. Presentation viewed what is called a partial eclipse, where the moon doesn’t conceal the sun all the way.

“I thought people were going to be really interested, but I didn’t think that many people were going to actually show up. . . it was so great that the school could invest so much money into the glasses,” said Antaya.

The astronomy club had been planning this event since the beginning of summer. Ordering such a large amount of glasses was an especially interesting challenge. Science teacher Wendy Kennedy said that the school had to order more glasses for every other student to have a pair during the viewing. This included returning glasses that didn’t pass inspection. However, in the end it definitely paid off.

“Before this I’d say I wasn’t really aware about a lot of astronomy stuff, but after the solar eclipse happened I definitely was a lot more impressed by it,” said junior Svetlana Sohoni.

The eclipse brought a lot of attention to the rest of STEM and science as well. “I think having all of Pres going to view the event and seeing how special it is to see this eclipse maybe might expose them to science and STEM,” said astronomy club officer Sarah Avila.

Kennedy added, “I think anytime you can view and learn more about your world, it’s important to see science in action . . . we were lucky that it was right here in our backyard.”

The solar eclipse was also a chance to bring the community together. “The best part of the eclipse was I liked being with everyone in the Pres community and being able to experience it together . . . It was special,” said Avila.

Presentation’s next eclipse won’t be for a while; however, there are things you can do to satisfy your solar eclipse eagerness in the meantime. The astronomy club plans to collect the remaining solar eclipse glasses and donate them to other places in the world that will witness an eclipse. In addition, Kennedy recommended that there are sites online you can visit to see when the next eclipses are happening and where.

“I think that you just have to take everyday as it comes, like . . . look at the beauty of the world . . . go outside, look at the stars,” said Antaya. “You can even see planets from right outside your home; you don’t need a telescope.”

The sun might have been robbed of its starlight that day, but it received something far more long-lasting in return from the Pres community – limelight.